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Revision as of 17:27, 11 December 2005
The Fender VI was a six-string electric bass developed by Fender in 1961 as Fender's take on Danelectro's 1956 concept. In essence, it was a guitar tuned down an octave, featuring a floating tremolo arm. Unlike normal 4-string bass guitars, the strings on the Fender VI are thinner (like a guitar) and thus do not give as deep a bass sound as 4-string basses. As a specialist-type instrument, its range was limited and never proved popular (as bassists shunned its tightly spaced strings versus a four-string bass), although legendary bassist Jack Bruce of Cream used one, giving it some fame. John Entwistle of The Who also played one briefly in the early '60's.
A Fender VI can also be seen on Beatles' videos for "Hey Jude", "Let it Be", and "The Long and Winding Road". It was played by both George Harrison ("Hey Jude"- though Paul McCartney played bass on the single version) and John Lennon ("Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road") when the band's bass player, McCartney, played piano. Years later, the Fender VI was embraced by Robert Smith from The Cure. Originally a guitarist, Smith uses the Fender VI as a lead instrument, playing phrases and even chords on it. The Fender VI can be heard on songs such as "Pictures of You" and "Lullaby". It was also used by Saul Davies of the band James, as a lead instrument. It can be seen in the concert video "Getting Away With It" on the song "Someone's Got It In For Me". Mark Hoppus from blink-182 also used a Fender VI on their untitled CD.
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